Thursday, November 4, 2010

Friday, October 29, 2010

Trollhaugen has begun making snow. I don't think they will be open for this weekend. But then again who knows? I've known these guys to lay down a 6" carpet of snow over the big hill in two days. I hope it sticks.

Monday, October 25, 2010

I'm ready. I am so ready. This is the time of the year when hundreds of metro area skiers make the pilgrimage to Trollhaugen in Dresser, WI just so they can run laps up and down the big hills. Yes, you read that right. We ski up as far as we can, then turn around and ski right back down. Some of the more accomplished skiers show off their telemark skills on the way down while most of us just point them straight down the hill and pray. This is what it looks like today on their webcam.

It's supposed to get down to 25F on Wednesday. I'll take another look at their webcam then. Hopefully it looks like this with the guns going full blast.

This is what happens when you don't watch out for the soft fresh snow at the bottom.

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Today was the City of Lakes Loppet trails day. More than a hundred volunteers showed up to help with trail preparation. Two difficult climbs and a flat section totalling 500 meters were added to the Judy loop. The whole loop is now nine meters wide over its five kilometer length so there's plenty of room to pass without stepping on poles.

Friday, October 22, 2010

This guy is my coach. He may not think he's my coach but he is. It's pretty amazing what you can learn from the few seconds you spend watching him as he whizzes by. I managed to catch him standing still one day. To be honest it was a trap. It took four walls, video games, and a promise of schnitzel to get him to do this. Once again, no secrets, just the basics.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Remember that guy below? He got his wish. He's getting new skis. But first he has to fight Caitlin Compton for the best pairs. Here she is Improving her hand/eye coordination.

The better part of valor and avoiding a black eye is to let the Olympian get first pick.

Picking skis is part science and part black magic. Here's Brian Gregg working on the science part. I suspect he was actually thinking about dinner.

Matt Liebsch applying the squeeze. Here he's trying to weed out the bottom of the pack. Matt's literally been through thousands of pairs of skis this year alone. He is arguably one of the best ski fitters in the country.

Some more skis. But you've all seen these before.

After squeezing and pressure mapping you still have to put them on the board.